I really love this time of year. It's a time for new beginnings and looking ahead to the future. As I do each year, I took some time to sit down and reflect on the past year and write down my goals for the new year.

I recently travelled to Edmonton, Alberta to visit my best and longest friend Mandy. It had been awhile since we had seen each other, and months in advance I started counting down the days until we would be reunited.

Working on a university campus means I work on a bit of a different calendar. September, the beginning of the academic year, almost feels like January all over again. Students are back on campus, there's a bit of a chill in the air, the leaves are slowly beginning to change, and there's a sense of newness and excitement. I love this time of year.

Last night, I had nothing in my schedule. I had the whole night to myself. Originally, I had planned on just biking home, jumping on the couch and not really moving for the rest of the night (it was my first night off in what felt like a long time, I was damn well going to spend it any way I wanted!). But instead, I changed my route.

I don't know about you, but when I get stressed, overwhelmed, upset, or just a general feeling of being down, the last thing I want to do is exercise. When in reality, the first thing I need to do is get my body moving!

The thing about habit is that sometimes we don't notice that something has become a habit until it's a deeply ingrained habit. And by that point, breaking that not-so-great habit becomes a bit tricky. When you've been running on autopilot, it can be difficult to stop. You need to re-train your brain and your body.